古墳の郷 吉備路 : 桃太郎伝説の舞台・備中高松城水攻め【岡山・総社】
Hello everyone In this video, I take you on a journey along the Kibiji trail in Soja, Okayama The Kibiji route, which still retains its ancient appearance was the center of the ancient Kibi Province and is an area that is home to many ruins and ancient tombs that fascinate history fans Please watch until the end as we follow the path of the Momotaro legend including the Tsukuriyama Ancient Tomb which is the largest freely climbable あancient tomb in Japan The former Kibi Kingdom was an area that extended across Bizen, Bitchu, Bingo, and Mimasaka and flourished throughout the Yayoi and Kofun periods Today we will be touring the Kibiji trail in Soja, Okayama, the heart of Kibi Province First, I came to the symbol of Kibiji, the five-story pagoda of Bitchu-kokubunji Temple Bitchu Kokubunji Temple is one of the provincial temples built at the request of Emperor Shomu Let’s take a break at a cafe This area is a hotbed of ancient red rice production This is amazake (sweet sake) made from red rice The Kibiji route also has a well-maintained cycling course so it’s a pleasant experience to explore by bicycle Inside there is something like a sarcophagus I can feel the history The sarcophagus inside the tomb reminds me of the royal tombs in Luxor, Egypt It’s surrounded by greenery and you can really relax Okayama is famous for Bizen ware pottery The ancient Kibi region once had a power comparable to that of Yamato The huge ancient tombs and Yayoi period burial mounds show the extent of their influence Amazingly, two of them are ranked in the top 10 for size of ancient tombs in Japan Tsukuriyama Tomb is said to be the tomb of the chief of the ancient Kibi Kingdom and the gigantic 350m long keyhole-shaped tumulus is the largest in Japan that can be freely entered Let’s start climbing right away! This is burnt cedar, a wall decoration technique often used in the Setouchi region It’s a beautiful black wall I climbed up to the tumulus, and it’s pretty big It is said to be the fourth largest burial mound in Japan There’s still more to climb There is a huge rock here Is this a sarcophagus? I later found out that this was a sarcophagus This sarcophagus was carved out of tuff from Aso in Kyushu This makes us realize the power of the Kibi Kingdom at that time Afterwards, it was used for a long time as a water basin for Ko Shrine, located in front of the tumulus I climbed to the top of the burial mound but there was nothing there Maybe the sarcophagus and other artifacts are buried deep underground here? Is that Kinojo Castle visible in the distance? Is this the remains of an earthwork? This part seems to be higher than the others Hideyoshi Hashiba was ordered by Nobunaga Oda to attack the Mori clan and he surrounded Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu with a water siege At that time, Tsukuriyama Kofun was used as a camp castle by the Mori clan Now let’s go to Bitchu Takamatsu Castle, the site of the water siege The actual water attack was carried out by building a 2.7km long, 8m high levee around the castle damming the Ashimori River, and pouring water into it What an enormous civil engineering project it must have been! The grave of Muneharu Shimizu, who committed seppuku in exchange for sparing the lives of the castle soldiers is enshrined next to his death poem After making peace with the Mori forces, Hideyoshi returned to Kyoto to attack Akechi Mitsuhide in what is known as the Returning from the Chugoku area in a very short period This incident at Bitchu Takamatsu Castle was a major turning point in history It is amazing that they built an 8m high embankment in this place It’s amazing! Kibitsu Shrine is the Ichinomiya Shrine of Bitchu Province The next shrine I will visit is Kibitsuhiko Shrine, Ichinomiya in Bizen Province Both shrines have Okibitsuhiko no Mikoto as their main deity In the middle of these Ichinomiya shrines is a sacred mountain called Kibi no Nakayama Kibitsu Shrine is located at the northwest foot of this mountain And Kibitsuhiko Shrine is located at the foot of the mountain in the northeast This is exactly the border between Bicchu and Bizen provinces The legend that Kibitsuhiko defeated those who did not obey the Imperial Court and brought peace to the land of Kibi is said to have been the model for the Momotaro legend The approach to Kibitsuhiko Shrine, the worship hall, and the main hall are all lined up in a straight line On the summer solstice, the sun rises directly in front of it Kibitsu Shrine is superior to Kibitsuhiko Shrine in terms of the splendor of its main hall However, Kibitsuhiko Shrine is very neatly built and has a beautiful feel to it There is a semi-underground passage between the Saimonden and the Watadono allowing visitors to worship closer to the main hall This will definitely increase your profits Speaking of the Momotaro legend, this is a place you can’t miss Here is the Kinojo Castle This is an important place in the Momotaro legend This is where a demon named Ura once lived It is actually an ancient mountain castle that is said to have been built by the Yamato Imperial Court for the defense of the country You can see the Tsukuriyama Tomb faintly in the distance The hiking area of Kinojo Castle is quite extensiv It’s already evening today so I’ll try again next time How was your trip to Okayama Soja and Kibiji a place full of history? Please come and visit Kibiji! Thank you for watching until the end See you on the next trip Goodbye!
皆さん、こんにちは。今日は岡山県総社市～岡山市にまたがる吉備路を巡る旅です。いにしえの姿を今なおとどめる吉備路は、古代吉備の国の中心地であり、歴史ファンを魅了する遺跡や古墳が集積する地域です。自由に立ち入りできる古墳としては全国一の規模を誇る造山古墳をはじめ、桃太郎伝説の軌跡をたどる旅です。
かつての吉備王国とは、備前・備中・備後・美作に広がる王国で、弥生時代から古墳時代を通じて大いに栄えました。
まずは吉備路のシンボル、備中国分寺の五重塔。備中国分寺は聖武天皇の発願によって創建された国分寺のひとつとされています。
また、この辺りは古代赤米の生産が活発で、赤米で作った甘酒もいただきました。
かつて、大和に匹敵するほどの力があった古代吉備の国。巨大古墳や、弥生時代の墳墓などが、その勢力の大きさを物語ってますね。
造山古墳は古代吉備王国の首長の墓といわれ、全長350ｍの巨大な前方後円墳は、自由に立ち入りできる古墳としては全国一の規模だそうです。
古墳前方に残る石棺は、九州阿蘇の凝灰岩をくりぬいて作られており、当時の吉備王国の力を思い知らされます。その後、古墳前方部にある荒（こう）神社の手水鉢として使われていたという事です。
古墳後方には土塁が今でも残っており、これは昔、羽柴秀吉が織田信長の命によって毛利攻略を命ぜられ、備中高松城を水攻めにしたのですが、その際、毛利方の陣城として使われたのがこの造山古墳でした。
備中高松城址に行ってみると党委の様子がよくわかります。実際の水攻めは、城の周囲に約2.7キロ、高さ８ｍにも及ぶ堤防を築き、足守川をせき止め、そこへ水を流し入れるという方法でたそうです。なんと壮大なスケールでしょうか。
城兵の助命と引き換えに切腹した清水宗治の辞世の句の隣には、宗治が葬られた首塚・胴塚が祀られています。
毛利軍との和平成立後、秀吉は世にいう中国大返しにより明智光秀を打つため、京に引き返しました。まさにこの備中高松城の一件が、歴史のおおきな転換点となったわけですね。
吉備津神社は備中国の一ノ宮で、次に訪れる吉備津彦神社は備前国の一ノ宮、ともに大吉備津日子命 を主祭神としています。これら一宮の真ん中に、吉備の中山と呼ばれる神体山があり、吉備津神社はこの山の北西の麓に、そして吉備津彦神社は北東の麓に位置しており、ちょうどここが備中国と備前国の境目となっているわけです。
この吉備津彦命が朝廷に従わぬ者を倒して吉備の国を平和に導いた―という伝承が桃太郎伝説のモデルになったようです。
吉備津彦神社の鳥居からまっすぐに続く参道、拝殿、そして本殿が一直線に並んでおり、夏至の日には、この真正面から太陽が昇る配置になっているのだそうです
本殿の豪華さでは吉備津神社には及ばないものの、吉備津彦神社は大変端正で、美しさを感じます
祭文殿と渡殿の間には、半地下通路が設けられており、より本殿に近い所から参拝することができます。本殿に近い分、ご利益も濃いかも…
続いて鬼ノ城です。桃太郎伝説での、鬼役ウラの本拠地を訪れないわけにはいかないでしょう！
実際には大和朝廷によって国の防衛のために築かれたとされる古代山城。 鬼ノ城は歴史書には一切記されておらず、その歴史は解明されずに謎のままなんだそうです。
ロマンがありますね。
私はカタール・ドーハ在住の肺移植外科医ですが、時々日本を訪れては日本の美や文化、海外に誇れる素晴らしい観光地を外国の方にも紹介しています。この動画が国内外の旅行者の方々の旅のヒントになれば嬉しいです。
#吉備路
#japantravel
#okayama
#古墳
